I used to be a New Year’s Resolutions fanatic. I’m talking multi-coloured pens, charts, deadlines…you name it. And then life started to feel a bit like bootcamp. And worse, if I didn’t achieve something when I was ‘supposed to’ then I felt like I failed somehow. I was robbing myself of feeling good about any kind of progress if an end goal wasn’t met.

So I did away with those, and even gave a workshop a couple of years ago about doing the same. An intimate group of ladies got together one Sunday afternoon, and I walked them through exercises to help them identify their motivating factors, their areas of imbalance and the one thing they could add or subtract from their life to help that balance. It was an incredible experience for me as I was allowed into their personal worlds and observed the workshop participants supporting one another.

I work on re-calibrating my balance a lot. Like, every time I have a new baby! Or when that baby grows to a mobile toddler and needs a different kind of attention. Or when my business grows by adding a new client, project or revenue stream. Things shift and so I have learned to do away with hard and fast measures that determine my achievement (and, ultimately, my worth…when I’m having one of those days.)

As we move into 2015, I’m trying something new. I grabbed a sheet of paper and made two columns: More and Less. Under the More column, I jotted down things I want more of: date nights, writing, alone time, and quality friendship time were among them. I haven’t thought much about the Less column yet, to be honest, but I’m guessing that what goes under there could help me find time for the things I want more of.

I don’t expect both lists to be extensive. I won’t place a deadline beside each item or come up with 6 actionables to help me achieve them. I’ll be sure to schedule things in (like make dates with my best girls and of course, my best guy) but I won’t go against my own grain to do it; I have faith these things will happen organically if I make space for them.

I’m always up for trying a new system; a new year is a good time for me to start. I’ll keep you posted on how I’m liking it (or not, as the case may be!)

Photo Credit: freedigitalphotos.net/mrpuen

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not putting away my paper planner, my purple/orange/blue/green pens, my new magnetic chalkboard organizer from Brick & Mortar Living or any of my organizational tools! Those come in super handy for running my writing business and my home. I’m just living with softer edges when it comes to the other bits of me.

[Tweet “I love checking off my multi-coloured, categorized WORK to-do list, but my LIFE is not a bootcamp.”]

How about you? Do you have a system with which you step into a new year?